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&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LI&&RSailing Alone Around the World&&L/I&&R, by &&LB&&RJoshua Slocum&&L/B&&R, is part of the &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R&&LI&&R &&L/I&&Rseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I&&R: &&LDIV&&RNew introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LI&&RBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/I&&Rpulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&RIn April 1895, at the age of fifty-one, &&LB&&RJoshua Slocum&&L/B&&R departed Boston in his thirty-six-foot sloop &&LI&&RSpray&&L/I&&R, a derelict boat he had rebuilt himself. Three years and 46,000 miles later he returned, having accomplished one of the greatest feats in maritime history--to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly. To crown the achievement, Slocum wrote this remarkable account of his voyage, &&LI&&RSailing Alone Around the World&&L/I&&R, an instant best-seller and one of literature's greatest voyage narratives.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RDespite having only a third-grade education, Slocum was as gifted a writer as he was a shipwright and navigator. In clear and vigorous prose, he paints a vivid, even poetic picture of his voyage with its many breathtaking sights and harrowing adventures--including skirting the paradisiacal South Sea islands, braving terrifying storms and treacherous coral reefs, and being chased by pirates. A portrait also emerges of the sailor himself, made up from Slocum's heartfelt simplicity, wry sense of humor, meditative reflections on solitude, and ability to find companions in his animate and inanimate surroundings.&&LBR&&R&&LBR&&RIn the fall of 1909, Slocum set sail from Martha's Vineyard and was never seen again. But his book survives as a testament to the skill, courage, and determination of the man known around the world as the patron saint of small-boat voyagers and navigators, and adventurers of every stripe. &&LB&&RWith 68 drawings and 3 original maps.&&L/B&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LSTRONG&&R&&L/B&&R &&L/DIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LDIV&&R&&LB&&RDennis Berthold&&L/B&&R, Professor of English, has taught at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, since 1972. He specializes in nineteenth-century American literature and has published scholarly articles and books on Charles Brockden Brown, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Constance Fenimore Woolson.&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&R&&L/DIV&&Rshow more

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On April 24, 1895, at the age of 51, Joshua Slocum, a Nova Scotia born, naturalized U. S. seaman and adventurer, set sail in his 37-foot sloop the Spray, a derelict boat that he had rebuilt himself. Three years and 46,000 miles later, he returned as the first person to sail around the world alone. Then in 1900 he wrote a sailing memoir about his single-handed global circumnavigation. It tells how he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Gibraltar, stopping at the Azores along the way, changed his mind about his route through the Suez Canal, and went back across the Atlantic, down along the coast of South America, through the Straits of Magellan, and into the Pacific Ocean, where his further stops included Juan Fernandez Island, Samoa, and various places in Australia.
From Australia, Slocum's route took him into the Indian Ocean with stops at Keeling Cocos Islands, Mauritius, and a couple of places in what is now South Africa. Then moving around Cape Horn back into the Atlantic, he stopped at St. Helena and Ascension Islands, sailed up the coast of South America into the Caribbean Sea-while the Spanish-American War in Cuba was going on, and finally arrived in Newport, RI, on June 27, 1898. The story first appeared in serial form in Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, a popular periodical published in New York. It tells of the perils of ocean sailing such as fog, gales, danger of collision, loneliness, doldrums, navigation, fatigue, and gear failure. There were also the dangers of coastal navigation including pirates, embankment, shoals, coral reefs, stranding, shipwreck, and attack by savages. For example, in Tierra del Fuego he was warned that he might be attacked by the Yahgan Indians in the night, so he sprinkled thumbtacks on the deck, and was awakened in the middle of the night by yelps of pain.
What makes the feats of both sailing around the world alone and then writing about it so amazing is that Slocum attended school for only three years. However, having been at sea since he was sixteen and sailed a variety of vessels to most of the world's major ports, he brought with him a wealth of nautical experience. There are a few mentions of drinking wine or other alcoholic beverages, but nothing else objectionable, and Slocum makes many references to God as the Maker and his protector. The style of writing would make it of interest mainly to teens and adults. But there is a lot of fascinating reading. I saw where years ago an edition of the book was used as a geography text for children in schools. Barnes and Noble was having a buy-two-get-one-free-sale on their own books. I picked up The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and then noticed Sailing Alone Around the World for my free one. I'd never heard of it before, but I'm glad I found it. In November of 1909, Slocum set sail from Martha's Vineyard in the Spray and was never heard from again, believed to have been lost at sea.show more

by Wayne S. Walker

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